7 Cities, 16 Days.

So, first of all I think it’s a good plan to explain where on earth I have been for the last few months! As a busy teacher coming to the end of my NQT year, blog posts unfortunately took a back seat- but realising that writing actually chills me out, I’m back!

In addition to this, I also rewarded myself with a nice trip around Europe with my better half, which is what I’m going to talk about today! We went to 7 cities in total, and travelled by train which I completely recommend if you want to save pennies, and which I found surprisingly relaxing- trust me, I appreciated the nap time!

#1- Rome

Best Tourist Attraction- The Roman Fora! Beautiful ruins, and a really relaxing walk. We started off at Palatine Hill and made our way down to the Fora and the Colosseum later. There was almost no one at the Palatine Hill entrance that morning so no crazy queue!

Best Something Else- The Trevi Fountain. Busy, but worth it for the photos and the opportunity to throw a coin in to guarantee your next trip to Rome!

#2 Florence

Best Tourist Attraction- Piazzale Michelangelo– after a short, but steep walk, Piazzale Michelangelo showcases a beautiful panoramic view of Florence.

Best Meal- Fresh pasta at Florence’s food market. I went for spinach and ricotta ravioli with pesto.

Best Something Else- 2.50€ glasses of prosecco at ‘Fishing Lab’ on Via del Proconsolo, and pretty good grub too! The restaurant specialises in fish, believe it or not!

#3 Milan

Best Tourist Attraction- The museums and the Duomo in Milan are fantastic, and well worth a visit if you are in to your history (or if you just want to cool off!) Head to Piazza del Duomo (pictured above) to find the ticket office, museums, the Duomo and the Palazzo Reale. Get there early to avoid long queues as it gets very busy!

Best Meal- Head to the restaurant at the top of Il mercato del Duomo for cheap food, and good quality.

Best Something Else- The shopping! Some amazing designer and high street shops (this place has an amazing Zara!). Head to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II for hassle free shopping, all in one place, and see the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II; one of the world’s oldest shopping malls!#4 Venice

Best Tourist Attraction- Simply walking around the streets of Venice was enough for me! We also took an all day boat ticket so we could visit the Venetian islands too! It’s worth a visit for some nice photos of the colourful houses of Burano (pictured above), river boats, and glass making demonstrations in Murano.

Best Meal- A cheap street food place (I don’t know the name) selling the best pizza I had during my whole time in Italy!

Best Something Else- Obviously the canals. Seeing the gondolas taking tourists on their travels, and capturing some gorgeous night time photos of the streets all lit up.

#5 Munich

Best Tourist Attraction- We found a walking tour of Munich online which showed us everything we needed to see in 24 hours! If you can, pay to go up a church tower for panoramic views of the city. I think it only cost us 3€!

Best Meal- We ate at Hofbrauhaus Munich which is a complete tourist hotspot, complete with beer by the litre and an oompah band! If there are a few in your party, reserve in advance as this place is packed most of the day.

Best Something Else- The food market! Amazing street food, and low prices. We had a traditional currywurst and chips here.

#6 Vienna

Best Tourist Attraction- Visit the Spanish Riding School and book in for a tour of the school (18€) or a morning training session (15€) to get behind the scenes look at how the Lipizzaner horses are trained for their world famous shows! Be aware that the training sessions do last 2 hours and you are not guaranteed to see any of the jumps performed in the shows! This depends on which horses are training, and what they are working on that particular day. Amazing for horse lovers though (I loved every minute!!)

Best Meal- We went to a small restaurant called Miznon, serving Israeli bar food! It was well priced, and one of my favourite meals of the whole trip! Get the lamb pitta- it’s amazing!

Best Something Else- The people! Everyone is so friendly in Vienna, and the city is really well kept and pretty.#7 Budapest

Best Tourist Attraction- Take the Funicular Railway to the top of Buda Castle Hill and take in the views from up there. There’s a beautiful church, the castle, and coffee shops and restaurants overlooking the whole city!

Best Meal- We actually ended up at Hard Rock Cafe for dinner in Budapest, and it was just as delicious as any other Hard Rock Cafe, with the same level of service too! Loved it. And it actually seemed to work out a little cheaper than in the UK paying in Hungarian Forint.

Best Something Else- Visit Budapest’s biggest gift shop, The Paprika Market in Vörösmarty tér, just down from the Hard Rock Cafe, and pick up some quirky gifts for your family and friends! We got a cool wooden chicken toy, and some hungarian sweets!

There you have it! A run down of highlights of my European adventure! Safe to say I was shattered after 2 weeks of moving place to place, but I would do it all again!